How we got the name Chartered Accountants

Before the Title

For centuries, people who kept accounts were simply called

"Accomptants" or "Accountants."

No exam. No licence. No standard. Anyone could call themselves one.

Scotland, 1854

On 23 October 1854, Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to the

Society of Accountants in Edinburgh.

This was the world's first formal recognition of accountancy as a profession.

The Word "Chartered"

A "Charter" is a formal document from the Crown or State granting rights and recognition.

Those who belonged to a Chartered body became known as

"Chartered Accountants."

The Title Spreads

India Under British Rule

Indian accountants were governed by the

Indian Accountancy Board (1932)

— a licensing body, not a professional institution. The title "CA" was not yet India's own.

Independence Changes Everything

After 1947, India needed its own sovereign professional institutions.

Parliament passed the

Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

ICAI was born on 1 July 1949 — just two years after independence.

Why Keep "Chartered"?

India chose to retain "Chartered" not because of Britain — but because the word had become

the global standard for professional trust.

Examined. Licensed. Held to a code of ethics.

Protected by Law

Under the CA Act 1949, only a member of ICAI can use the title

"Chartered Accountant" in India.

Misuse is a criminal offence. The title is protected by law — not just tradition.

The "Accountant" Half

From Latin computare — to calculate, to reckon.

Old French aconter → Middle English accomptant → modern "Accountant."

The word is over 600 years old.

Two Words. One Weight.

Chartered — state-recognised, professionally accountable.

Accountant — one who reckons, who is answerable.

Together: a person the law trusts to tell the truth about money.